I tried again another night at a different location, but Jupiter and Saturn were running away from each other fast. The moment had passed, and even though I didn't get on camera what I wanted, the photos remind me of the cool things that we can view up in the sky. Here's to a fun astronomical year in 2021!
Sunday, January 17, 2021
The "Christmas Star" and Winter Solstice
I tried again another night at a different location, but Jupiter and Saturn were running away from each other fast. The moment had passed, and even though I didn't get on camera what I wanted, the photos remind me of the cool things that we can view up in the sky. Here's to a fun astronomical year in 2021!
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Ice Skating
We were very fortunate to be able to go ice skating at Stella Lake in Great Basin National Park in 2017, 2018, and 2019. But in 2020 we had a snowstorm that closed the road. We didn't know if we would be able to go ice skating. But then my friend Jenny said that Pruess Lake, south of Garrison, Utah was frozen solid and invited us to a skating party.
How exciting! Desert Girl and I couldn't wait until the party and went early in the morning to check out the ice. It was good!
Then we went back in the afternoon, which was even more fun because friends were there. I'm so glad that they make kids' ice skates in adjustable sizes, as the kids feet grow so much from year to year. Desert Girl is in a bigger size now, and probably for just this winter. Desert Boy is wearing my husband's ice skates.
Desert Girl and I went back later to check on the ice, but found that the water level had come up and it had been warm enough that the edges were water.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
So Long, 2020!
2020 will be a year people talk about for a long time.
I like to focus on the positive, so here are some highlights from the year, in no particular order:
- Comet NEOWISE was the first visible comet to the naked eye in quite awhile. I loved trying to find the best places to photograph it.
- We broke our previous record for our Backyard Bird Count (set in 2019 with 45 species) with 47 species for 2020 (see sidebar).
- I read a lot of books and listened to more. I'm starting to keep better track because I get most from Overdrive (the free app that lets you check books out of your library.) One that I listened to and then had to buy was Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, which is chock full of great advice on how to be a good leader (care about people, don't avoid the hard conversations, and communicate clearly are three main takeaways).
- Our family stayed relatively healthy.
- I joined Toastmasters in October and have really enjoyed the weekly meetings to improve public speaking skills and leadership as well as listening and evaluation skills.
- I got to do a fair bit of caving despite the pandemic, visiting caves in Nevada, Wyoming, and Arizona. This included finding some new caves and mapping them with the kids, teaching cave rescue, plus learning so much more about cave geology, cave LiDAR, and more.
- We explored a bunch of our "big backyard." I especially enjoyed trips to the Fortification Range and the North Snake Range in Nevada.
- We decluttered the house a little more.
- Work was very productive for me this year, with lots of projects that could be done from home or out in the field. I particularly enjoyed helping with the inventory of Lehman Caves, lint camps, breeding bird and Christmas bird surveys, writing grant proposals, LiDAR of the Lehman Caves tour route, and learning more about the only glacier in Nevada.
- Our local trails projects have gotten off the ground, with funding secured and progress happening (although slower than I wanted, there is some light at the end of the tunnel).
- The kids have learned some new skills. Desert Girl has really improved her sewing with the help of a couple wonderful local women. Desert Boy has taken up forging and with the help of his cousin got his 3D printer working.
- Desert Girl has really bloomed with daily horse chores and weekly horse riding lessons.
- The kids had a (mostly) successful 4-H year. (Desert Girl had issues with her sheep and wasn't able to show in the fair, but everything else went well, and she was delighted to get to show a goat in the round robin competition.)
- My Aunt Pat passed away, and I have fond memories of her from various family gatherings.
- Ice skating was lots of fun.
- We watched the kids grow amazing amounts this year and get better than me at things like cross-country and downhill skiing, running (Desert Boy beat me at Thanksgiving in a family 5k), and short hikes.
Saturday, December 26, 2020
Sacramento Pass 5K - Weaver Creek Trail
I'm hoping you're able to enjoy some post-Christmas outside time!
Sunday, December 20, 2020
FREE! TAG: The Acronym Game
In November I was ready for some new board games. So I ordered some. Some were good (for example, Don't Be Meme), but some weren't so good. And they were expensive. After a little thinking, our family came up with our own game, TAG: The Acronym Game.
It's fun, and we're going to share it with you free via my website. Just download the pages and print them, cut them to size, and you're set to go.
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Example of some of the acronyms in TAG: The Acronym Game |
The game has a simple premise. Take a known acronym (or initialism for those who want to split hairs), for example UFO for Unidentified Flying Object. Draw a theme card, for example Newspaper Headline. Now each person makes up a new acronym for that theme. UFO could now be United Forces Organize or Underwear Frees Odors. Okay, this can be hard!
After each person goes, a vote is taken for favorite (we like to do it by counting down from 3 and then pointing at the person we choose). Whomever wins gets a point. Play to 7 points. Or 10. Or 15. The rules can be rather loose.
After a round (4-5 cards), pick a new theme card, such as Food and Drink. Now UFO could be Ugly Fried Onions or Unbelievable Fritters and Oranges. It's a game that won't repeat itself for a long time.
You might be asking why free? Because it's 2020, and everyone can use something positive in their day. And it's Christmastime, and we enjoy giving. And maybe, just maybe, we're just too lazy to try to do anything else with it.
Perhaps we'll try to come up with more games in the future. And perhaps not. But for now, go give TAG a try!